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1 f 


CONSTRUCTIVE 

THOUGHT 

OR HOW TO OBTAIN WHAT 
YOU DESIRE 

BENJAMIN JOHNSON 

il 

ffl 


Edited by 

ELIZABETH CURTISS NOLAN 

PURDY PUBLISHING COMPANY 
5 South Wabash Avenue 
CHICACO. ILLINOIS 











9 The secret of attainment is the vital spark 
hidden in each one of us, but only fanned into 
the flame of effort by desire, fll The tiniest 
spark , kindling the smallest flame, may be 
kept alive by faith and so fed by resolution 
that every obstacle to advancement will be 
destroyed and the path to success made 
clear as day. 


i 

A 

MAY 29 i3i5 ©C1.A40162 4 

**/■ 



Contents 


I.—Breathing. 7 

II.—Thinking.13 

III. —Thinking Cheerfully .17 

IV. —Troubles or Problems—Which?.21 

V.—Thinking Harmoniously .25 

VI.—Working, Relaxing .29 

VII. —Thought Elimination .35 

VIII. —Thinking Constructively .39 

IX.—The Subconscious Mind.43 

X.—Impressing the Subconscious.47 

XI.—Using the Subconscious Under the Best Conditions.51 

XII. —Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion—Their Uses.55 

XIII. —Practicing Suggestion .59 

XIV. —Sending Suggestions .61 

XV. —Auto-Suggestion .63 

Daily Affirmation for Auto-Suggestion.65 

XVI. —The Science of Obtaining.67 

Summary.71 





















































/ 





tforeworto 


The possibilities of constructive thought are so fasci¬ 
nating, its daily use so practical, that the demand for its 
better understanding is constantly growing. 

The thoughts here presented belong to whom? I wish 
I might tell you, but truly, I do not know. 

Aside from the many quotations I have given, thought 
after thought has appeared, fairly insisting that it be used. 
As each thought came, I wrote it down for the purpose of 
putting in concise form the information by so many desired. 

If there be such things as original thoughts, some of 
these may be so named. 

But how can one be sure ? 

With my mind equipped with a New Thought wireless, 
I may have caught and appropriated ideas that someone 
else was sending; or, from the reading of Epictetus, Emer¬ 
son, Allen, Brown, Huckel, Hudson, Fletcher, Militz; 
Mulford, Marden, Towne, Larson, Randall, Sears and 
others, my subconscious mind may have absorbed and given 
back to me the thoughts of these good writers and able 
teachers. 

At any rate should I find that I am a mental pirate, I 
shall not grieve, for I will know that only because I de¬ 
sired so intensely to help others, that which I needed came 
to me as a proof of the law. 

With all these great minds aiding me, I am certain one 
will find in this book the help one needs; and I believe it can 
be referred to, from time to time, with benefit. 

I feel positive it may be used to help others, as I have 
endeavored to help, in the work of replacing instead of 
repressing; of changing the old form of pessimistic thought 
for the new one of health, prosperity and happiness. 

Benjamin Johnson. 

March 16th, 1915. 






ffireatbino 

i. 

Your character represents the result of the habits you have formed. 

Your habits show your manner of thought. Your manner of thought 
is in turn affected by your method of breathing. Would you suc¬ 
ceed? Then breathe systematically, intelligently and happily. The 
air is filled with life-giving oxygen ready for you to use. It is 
already yours, but you must give it space in which to do its work. 

Unless you have the force of will necessary to breathe correctly 
not only once but many times a day, you have not sufficient will to 
develop your mental faculties to their greatest capacity; hence your 
thinking will be limited. 

You have probably, like many other people, considered breathing 
as a natural process not worth bothering about, and so in common 
with many others, you have starved certain organs of your body, im¬ 
poverished your brain, and then sought for some remedy to act as a 
tonic. All the time the real remedy has been within your reach, but 
you have wilfully refused to acknowledge it or use it. 

You surely desire to succeed,—then begin your work for success, 
and for thought building, by realizing to the utmost your need of giving 
to the lungs the greatest natural tonic and purifying agent for the 
blood known—oxygen. 

In order to take in the greatest amount of oxygen, all breathing 
exercises should be practiced in the open air, or by an open window. 
Deep, full breaths should be inhaled through the nostrils, held for a 
few moments in order to purify the air that remains in the lungs from 
former inhalations, and then should be exhaled through the mouth. 

. Ordinarily, about one-half pint of oxygen is taken in in an average 
breath. When the effort is made to breathe from the abdomen, throw¬ 
ing back the shoulders and taking in all that the lungs will hold, this 
amount is tremendously increased. And, when one realizes that in 
one person’s lungs there are between seven hundred and twenty-five 
and eight hundred million air cells, not half of which are ever used 


8 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


by the person who takes only the average breath, it readily can be 
seen that a great many pints of oxygen would be needed to stimulate 
all these air cells to action. 

The blood passes through the lungs about three times a minute, 
carrying the carbon dioxide that should be given off, and searching 
for the oxygen to be inhaled for the purpose of purifying and revital¬ 
izing. If the blood fails to receive the supply of oxygen it needs, the 
entire system immediately shows the result of this deficiency by weak 
tissues, inefficient digestive juices and a low vitality. 

The amount of blood in the body of a person is estimated to be 
about one-sixteenth of the body weight. This blood has fully two 
thousand miles of tubing through which to circulate. For every heart 
beat nearly three ounces of blood will be forced along through this 
tubing, so that in twenty-four hours fully eight tons of blood passes 
through the lungs, giving off carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen. 

If the breathing apparatus is not in perfect working order, or if 
the ventilation is not good and the person is breathing air that is 
impure, but little of the carbon dioxide can be given off and the ac¬ 
cumulated poison shows its presence by a sensation of weariness; or by 
weakness. 

The great pumping organ, the heart, is one of the first to suffer 
from the deficiency of oxygen. One would not expect an automobile 
to operate without gasoline. It would, however, be just as sensible, as 
to expect good work from a heart when the blood is not being fully 
supplied with oxygen. The carbon dioxide can only get out of the 
lungs as the oxygen gets in, so the other organs of excretion will ac¬ 
cordingly have more work thrown on them, and the skin and kidneys 
will in turn suffer. 

It is also estimated that fully two pounds of oxygen are needed 
for every pound of food in the blood to maintain the body in a health¬ 
ful condition. 

Men, in ordinary walks of life, are said to take in about one-half 
the oxygen really needed. Women take in about one-fourth of the 
amount necessary for perfect health. Shallow breathers never take 
in enough to give the body what is demanded. 

“Breathed air” in any room is always deadly and can rightfully 
be accused of causing all sorts of physical disturbances. Frequent 
breathing exercises are necessary, because oxygen is unlike food in 
that it cannot be stored up, it must be taken in often. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


9 


As an example of the instant effect of bad air, take any one ac¬ 
customed to out-of-door life. Place this person in the ordinary office. 
In nearly every instance a violent headache, a feeling of weariness, 
and a general depression, will result. Continue this seclusion for a 
time and the eyes lose their lustre, the cheeks become colorless and 
the vitality is lowered. 

True, many people always have and always will exist under such 
conditions, but to truly live, in the broadest sense of the word, some¬ 
thing else is necessary; and that something is the opportunity for 
drinking in Nature’s best tonic—oxygen—at frequent intervals. 

A very simple plan is to practice deep, rhythmic breathing on your 
way to the office in the morning, when going to, and coming from, 
luncheon in the afternoon, and before retiring. If you feel tired men¬ 
tally during the day, go to the window, throw back your shoulders, and 
take several deep breaths. 

Does your head ache; are you weary, dull, depressed? Nature’s 
remedy is yours, for the mere taking. 

Naturally, too, if the various organs of the body are affected by 
the amount of oxygen received, the entire nervous system becomes in 
turn either efficient or inefficient, and if the supply of oxygen is not 
great enough, the brain cannot properly generate, store and transmit 
the nerve current. 

Another feature of the deep breath, and one not usually considered, 
is, that by such an inhalation, the diaphragm, Nature’s principal aid for 
exercising the internal organs, contracts during inhalation and exerts 
a gentle pressure upon the liver, stomach and large intestines, thus 
performing a gentle internal massage. 

For the reduction of superfluous flesh, deep breathing exercises 
are especially beneficial, as by this means much of the extra fatty 
material can be consumed. 

Breathing, therefore, can be shown to affect every organ of the 
body, either for good or ill; though ordinarily it is considered an act 
of but little importance. 

The effect on the mind of breathing is easily understood when one 
understands just what oxygen does; but there is still another point to 
consider, and that is the effect of the mind on breathing. 

Anger, fear, suspense are all indicated by short, rapid breathing. 
People who are always sad and despondent are invariably shallow 


10 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


breathers. On the other hand, contented, well poised, calm natures 
breathe deeply and systematically, as a matter of course. 

Knowing that the state of mind affects the breathing and the man¬ 
ner of breathing in turn affects the bodily health, one feels a com¬ 
bination of will and action especially desirable. Therefore, before 
commencing any breathing exercise, the mind should be calm, free 
from worry or any disturbing emotion, and the will used to breathe 
deeply for the purpose of taking in an especially large supply of 
oxygen. 

To begin with, prove that you are breathing deeply, by placing your 
hand lightly over the diaphragm and watching the effect on the 
muscles. If the muscles are not affected, try and try again until you 
know they are being exercised. 

Then, standing erect, empty the lungs and slowly breathe until the 
lower parts of the lungs have been filled. Then fill the middle parts, and 
then the upper lungs. Hold the breath for an instant and exhale 
through the nostrils. Repeat and hold the breath while you count 
five, in the meantime pressing your shoulders back so you will increase 
the breathing space. Then exhale, counting the same number. 

Do not make this a difficult task by closing your teeth, and forcing 
the breath, but work easily, endeavoring to breathe rhythmically, in¬ 
creasing the time of holding the breath until you count ten. 

Always practice in the open air, or before an open window. 

Another simple, though excellent method to practice breathing, 
is to stand erect and then empty the lungs, as you bring the hands to¬ 
gether directly in front of the body. Then clench the hands, com¬ 
mence the work of inhalation and as you inhale bring the clenched 
hands back to the sides of the body, throwing the shoulders back at 
the same time. With a very little practice a good lung expansion can 
be developed in this way. 

It is, of course, understood that in all deep breathing exercises, the 
breath must be taken in through the nostrils with the mouth kept 
tightly closed, but in exhaling the lips may be parted and the breath 
allowed to go out through the mouth. 

Many people who have suffered for years from insomnia have 
been able to cure this trouble by practicing breathing exercises after 
retiring, insisting with every breath, “I am sleepy/’ until finally sleep 
comes. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


11 


Women troubled by despondency have also been cured by practic¬ 
ing breathing exercises before a mirror, smiling back at their reflec¬ 
tions and declaring, “I am happy,” until at least twenty-five deep 
breaths have been taken. 

One woman, who was cured by this process, declared that she felt 
like such a fool when she was practicing this exercise, that she laughed 
every time she thought of it, and believed that this in itself had much 
to do with her recovery. Whether she was foolish or not, the fact 
remains that she was changed from a melancholy, emaciated, nervous 
wreck, with suicidal tendencies, to a normal being in a very short time. 

So, before going on to the bigger things that seem so necessary to 
our dream of accomplishment, we should all of us be possessed of suf¬ 
ficient determination to breathe properly and for health, every time 
we have the opportunity—and that will mean several times a day. 

Many exponents of thought-building insist that their students make 
every breathing exercise a thought exercise in the following manner. 

As you inhale the first five breaths, say “I am breathing in oxygen, 
the greatest known purifying agent; and thus helping every organ of 
the body.” As you exhale these breaths, say “I am thrusting out of 
the lungs the impure air; thus assisting in the work of elimination.” 

With the next five breaths, assert “As I take in the purifying oxy¬ 
gen, I am also breathing in the elements of success from the universal 
supply.” As you exhale, declare, “I am casting out every destructive 
thought with as much ease as I eliminate this breath.” 

Try this exercise four times a day, and by the end of the third 
day you will be a convert. By the end of the week you will feel a 
new ambition, and in a month you will be positively hungry for an 
opportunity to practice on more difficult exercises, while you still use 
the breathing exercise as a pleasant daily task. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


IReferences 


Gbinhtng 

ii. 


“Some people study all their lives and at their deaths have learned 
everything excepting how to think.” 

Once the attention has been called to the very simple act of breath¬ 
ing, it becomes evident to every intelligent mind that this act must be 
performed well if the body is to be kept in good condition. Breathing 
is, of course, a physical process, just as thought is a mental process. 
But, for the one person who is careless about breathing, we shall find 
one hundred who are admittedly and unreservedly careless in thinking. 

One often hears it said: “I wouldn’t have hurt her feelings for 
the world, but the thought popped into my mind and I blurted it out 
or “I do try, but I can’t help thinking of all the trouble I have been 
through;” or, “I just can’t help it when these thoughts come to me.” 

All excuses are poor ones. No one can make you think anything, 
unless you choose to do so. No one can influence your thought unless 
you allow it. No thought of past happiness, nor of present misery, 
hate, revenge, and anger can possibly exist in your mind unless you 
allow your mind to become the worthless meeting place for your own 
destructive thoughts, as well as for those expressed by other people. 

You desire to do much in this world, to become known, praised, 
appreciated; then, first of all, learn to think constructively. It means 
the beginning of everything. 

True, you may mention instance after instance where men and 
women of evil minds, worse acts and bad influences have apparently 
been well, happy and prosperous. I say apparently, but that is all. 

Emerson says,—“Always pay; for first or last you must pay your 
entire debt. Persons and events may stand for a time between you 
and justice, but it is only a postponement. You must pay at last your 
own debt.” 


14 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


The price of health, wealth and happiness, three qualities all desire, 
must be paid for by right thinking. 

Dr. Charles Gilbert Davis, after years of observation, asserts em¬ 
phatically : 

“If a thought can in an instant of time dilate or contract a 
blood vessel; if it can increase or decrease the secretion of a 
gland; if it can hasten or retard the action of the heart; if it can 
turn the hair gray in a single night; if it can force tears from 
the eyes; if it can in an instant produce great bodily weakness; 
if it can produce insomnia; if, as has often occurred, it can bring 
instantaneous death;—then is it not natural for us to conclude, 
without further argument, that it may bring about a more or less 
continuous derangement of the physical organism that we call 
disease ? 

“I have seen the most wonderful effects follow a fit of anger. 
After an outburst of passion the function of every gland in the 
body is impaired. Time and time again, I have observed acute 
illness in an infant when it was permitted to nurse immediately 
after the mother had engaged in a quarrel, and on more than one 
occasion, I have seen death follow in a few hours. 

“The standing army of the human body is the corpuscles of 
the blood. Upon them we depend to heal the wounds, build new 
tissue and attack the poisonous bacilli that may attempt to enter 
our systems. 

“Thought produces disease because of its action on the cor¬ 
puscles of the blood. These corpuscles are wonderfully influenced 
by the mind. An outraged conscience; hate, envy, anger, and 
fear crush the vitality out of them and leave the citadel of life 
exposed. But faith, hope, happiness and love create them and 
send them swarming through the body till every fibre and tissue 
throbs with life. This is demonstrated by the microscope.” 

Elmer Gates, a noted authority, speaking of the fact that so many 
people endeavor to consider brains as accidents, and thoughts some¬ 
thing over which they have no control, writes as follows: 

“Anybody may go into the business of building his own mind. 
The thinking organ undergoes perpetual changes in cell construc¬ 
tion and is never finished. 

“Even in old age it is not too late. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


15 


“Let the mind-builder systematically devote an hour each 
day to calling up pleasant memories and ideas. Let him summon 
the finer feelings of benevolence and unselfishness which are 
called up only now and then. Let him take his regular exercise 
like the swinging of dumb bells. Let him gradually increase the 
time devoted to the physical gymnastics, giving them sixty or 
ninety per diem. 

“At the end of a month he will find the change in himself 
surprising. The alteration will be apparent in his actions and 
thoughts. 

“It will have been registered in the cell structure of his brain. 
Cells useful for good thinking will have been well developed, while 
others productive of evil will have shrunk. Morally speaking, the 
man will be a great improvement on his former self.” 

So authority after authority might be quoted, and all of them be 
found to agree on these main points. 

Scientists have proved that the only difference in the various forms 
of substance is in the degree of motion or vibration of the particles 
composing this substance. 

In man, as a result of thought and will, the tiny atoms are formed 
into molecules and the molecules into electrons, the rapidity with 
which they are formed being in proportion to the intensity of the desire 
and the strength of will exerted to keep this desire constantly before 
one. 

On this theory that “like attracts like,” man thus has it within his 
power by the continuous use of right thought to attract to himself 
that which is needed for further development, by the law of magnetic 
attraction. 

Evil thinking can be, and is, equally productive—the system of de¬ 
velopment being the same—only, in the latter case, destructive 
thought is indulged in, and sooner or later the penalty for such in¬ 
dulgence must be paid. In connection with this idea, it will be seen 
that the quality of thought developed has also a beneficial or detri¬ 
mental effect upon those to whom it is expressed. 

In every neighborhood, examples will be seen of this, if one recalls 
the effect produced by noble characters, and by the words of encour¬ 
agement they utter; or by the brilliant yet dissipated people and their 



16 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


effect on weaker natures, by reason of their witty though possibly 
obscene remarks. 

One of the great reformers, who has done much in the way of 
teaching the power of thought, declares that the great reason it is so 
hard to help the unfortunate, is not because they are such great sinners 
and lack will power, but because their minds are so filled with the 
thoughts of self-condemnation and self-pity that there is not left room 
for faith or hope. 

The woman who would grow and develop, therefore, must consider 
her mind as a garden, which she has the opportunity to plant with 
beautiful flowers, that will shed their fragrance on those who come 
that way, or with noxious weeds that exhale their poisonous fumes 
on all the passersby. 

It is simply a matter of choice. 

Which course have you decided to pursue ? 


Gblnfung Cheerfully 

hi. 

“When all the world’s cold and drear, 

Jes’ smile! 

An’ yer losin’ all thet’s dear, 

Jes’ smile! 

Fer everything thet goes today, 

Will return again some other way, 

Bringin’ with it four-fold pay— 

Jes’ smile! 

When yer feelin’ kind of blue, 

Jes’ smile! 

An’ when yer yearly interest’s due, 

Jes’ smile! 

There’s nary a thing in all the land, 

From a mountain to a grain of sand, 

But’s yours fer the askin’, so feel grand, 

An’ smile.” 

—Sam Exton Foulds. 

A physician says: “In the maintenance of health and the cure of 
disease, cheerfulness is a most important factor. Its power to do 
good, like a medicine, is not an artificial stimulation, to be followed 
by reaction and greater waste; but the effect of cheerfulness is an 
actual life-giving influence through a normal channel, the results of 
which reach every part of the system. It brightens the eye, makes 
ruddy the complexion, brings elasticity to the step, and promotes all 
the inner force by which life is sustained. The blood circulates more 
freely, the oxygen comes to its home in these tissues, health is pro¬ 
moted and disease is banished.” 

Why studious, thoughtful and particularly good people have in the 
past felt it their duty to go about with care and responsibility written 
over their faces, and every expression that even looked like a smile 
tucked out of sight, has always been a mystery to me. 

Why business men of large affairs feel that the wrinkled effect is 
the proper thing for their foreheads, and that lips drawn tightly 
together show determination, is also perplexing. 


18 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Why good looking, attractive women persist in cultivating repose 
to such an extent that their faces are as expressionless as a mummy’s 
is another surprise. 

Just the mere act of smiling relaxes the muscles of the face, makes 
the eyes brighter and changes the entire atmosphere about one. 

Of course, it goes without saying that well bred people never parade 
their troubles, their ailments, or their disappointments; but that is no 
reason why they should tuck them away and repress them till their 
faces are an index to their mental condition. 

Whether in the pulpit, or on the stage, in political, business, or 
social life, a magnetic personality and a winning smile that seems to in¬ 
dicate a true desire to be friendly, will do more to attract and hold 
popularity than any other one attribute. 

In one of the largest stores in Chicago there is a floor-walker, who 
is always surrounded by questioners. No matter what department 
people want to visit, they like to question this man because he answers 
in a manner so sincere that each person feels his interest. His popu¬ 
larity with his fellow-workers is equally great, and his being there is 
an asset to the store. He will be promoted certainly—for his smile 
and his manner have brought him from a ragged urchin who peddled 
papers to errand and parcel boy, then to clerk, and now to this position. 

There are many policemen in Chicago, and all of them undoubtedly 
try to do their duty, but some of them occasionally forget to smile. 

One policeman who is on duty in a very busy place never forgets 
that sunshine is much more popular than thunder clouds, so there he 
stands day after day, with a beaming smile and a nod, looking as though 
wet, cold, or burning days were mere incidents in his existence, and had 
no bearing on his temperament. He is only one of the many who are 
employed in the same work, yet at holiday times it is said that more 
than one thousand people make it a point to stop and offer a re¬ 
membrance and wish him a Merry Christmas. 

A large building, in which the elevator service is a serious business, 
had a man employed as “starter,” who managed all the boys systemat¬ 
ically, remembered every tenant by name, and was so uniformly cheer¬ 
ful that a keen business man, who had watched him for some time, 
finally made him an offer to manage a restaurant. He accepted and 
in a few short years became a part owner. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


19 


One very well known modiste, noted for her style and her un¬ 
manageable temper, pays a large salary to one of her assistants, because 
the latter has never been known to lose her temper and she is so uni¬ 
formly cheerful that her influence upon both the employes and the 
patrons is most beneficial. 

A young widow, left alone with two small children, was given a 
position in a smart shop in the city. She possessed a cheerful dispo¬ 
sition and declared that as “a smile was her best asset,” she was going 
to use it. She, of course, was tactful and sensible, but that smile won 
her way past older employees into the manager’s office. She became 
“Mrs. Manager,” and today is owner of the smart shop. 

A prominent physician, who is noted for his fashionable and 
wealthy following, was consulted recently by a young woman who was 
rich, beautiful, talented, happily married—and discontented, withal. 
After a careful examination, he said, “Now, Mrs. X. I am going to 
hurt your feelings, because it is the only thing to do. Physically you 
are sound as can be. Mentally you are undeveloped. You are selfish, 
thoughtless, critical and morbid. Your only salvation is to become in¬ 
terested in the work of helping others, stop thinking of yourself, and 
begin being cheerful. It is your duty to every one of your friends. 
It costs you nothing to smile pleasantly, yet you smile as though it were 
an effort. Now unless you take this prescription and follow my advice 
I must decline to continue to be your physician.” For a moment Mrs. 
X. was angry, but she had confidence in the doctor, and so agreed to 
follow his advice. 

When she opened the prescription she found the following advice: 
“Laugh heartily three times a day before meals—for effect on the 
liver. Smile at yourself in the mirror at least six times a day for exer¬ 
cise to facial muscles. Smile at everyone you meet for the effect on 
them. Walk five miles a day in the open air. Read nothing but opti¬ 
mistic literature, and practice thinking of others by helping someone 
every day.” 

The reading of the prescription produced one good effect, for 
though provoked, Mrs. X. laughed. Every time she thought of it, she 
smiled. Just for the novelty of the thing she also tried the advice, 
and today she is quoted as an example of the famous doctor’s skill, 
for she is indeed a changed woman. Only she and the doctor know 
what her real ailment was, and what the cure entailed. 


20 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Cheerfulness should be considered just as much a part of every¬ 
day’s task as talking. It is not only helpful to you because it means 
less strain on your energy when you can go through a day smiling, 
but it is also infectious and those about you soon take the spirit and 
vie with you as to which one can get the most pleasure out of life. 

Every day offers you new possibilities for practice—new people to 
practice upon, and practice, as every one knows, makes perfect. 

Keep at this practice constantly, until, finally, when you are check¬ 
ing up on your good qualities you will be able to write in large letters 
as the greatest aid to smooth running in your home and your business 
and your daily life the one word cheerfulness. 


troubles or iproblems—Mbicb? 

IV. 


“Troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that smooth the road 
to a good man’s future. The ignorant man curses the rains that 
fall upon his head, not realizing that it brings abundance to drive 
away hunger.” 

“In general every evil to which we do not succumb is a benefactor.” 

“If you serve an ungrateful master, serve him the more. Put God 
in your debt. The longer the payment is withholden, the better for 
you, for compound interest upon compound interest is the rate of 
this exchequer.” 

The average person realizes that, to attain muscular development, 
strenuous exercises are necessary, performed with regularity day after 
day. 

If one is training for some great event in the world of athletics, a 
still greater sacrifice of time is exacted, a more rigorous diet is insisted 
upon and the result is a physical endurance that enables the survivors 
of this test to appear before the public in the big events. 

Mental development is built on the same idea. If you would be a 
great thinker, a wonderful producer, an example of what thought 
can do, you must also be prepared to pay the price by exercising your 
mental faculties vigorously and systematically, limiting your diet of 
careless thinking and doing without some things so that you may have 
others. 

From every experience in life something can be learned that will 
be of benefit. What might seem disaster may be turned into positive 
victory, but to see this, is to be able to look from within—out; not 
from without—in; as one usually does. 

I once heard a story of a countrywoman who was so invariably 
even tempered and serene that her husband decided to make her lose 
her temper, by getting her everything she did not want, instead of 
the things she requested. She placidly utilized every substitute, declar- 


22 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


ing she had found many new uses for things she had not before realized 
she could employ. 

Finally the husband, utterly disgusted with her serenity, decided 
to try one last plan, and said to himself triumphantly—‘Til make her 
give up this time, for I will have the boy take to the house only the 
gnarled, crooked stumps of trees for the stove, instead of the straight 
sticks to which she is accustomed.” An hour later, the husband crept 
cautiously into the kitchen only to be met by a beaming wife who de¬ 
clared enthusiastically: “Those crooked pieces of wood are just what 
I wanted, they nestle around the pots and pans so comfortably and 
give a much better heat!” 

The experience of the countrywoman affords an example of how 
every trying circumstance in life may be handled. True, things may 
displease us for the time being and seem almost impossible to endure, 
but a little consideration shows us they are but harbingers of better 
things. 

Sometimes distressing events are wonderful tests of our endurance 
and our faith in the ultimate outcome. Others teach us the value of 
self-control. 

A disappointment is always an avenue to something better—if, in¬ 
stead of standing dumbfounded and dismayed, we but push forward in 
another direction in our journey toward the ideal, remembering always 
the value! of retaining a cheerful appearance and an optimistic state of 
mind, regardless of what has happened. 

It is not only practical but scientific to live on the sunny side of life, 
for even the most dyed-in-the-wool and skeptical scientists are now 
admitting that the greatest number of baffling diseases have their origin 
in a depressed or morbid mental condition. 

The study of the life of every man or woman who has ever suc¬ 
ceeded in attaining any great prominence, will inevitably reveal the 
story of some difficulty put out of countenance by a resolute endeavor. 

John Bunyan might never have written Pilgrim’s Progress had he 
not been cast into jail, where he had plenty of time for reflection. 
Many of Beethoven’s masterpieces were composed after he had lost 
his hearing. Isolated as he was from conversation, it gave him more 
opportunity to pour out his soul in music. In more modem times, 
Paderewski, undaunted by the jeers of his fellow-musicians, practiced 
fourteen hours a day, endured privation, even lack of food, and 
emerged a victorious genius. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


23 


Sir Thomas Lipton, who was at sea one time when it became neces¬ 
sary to lighten the weight of the boat by tossing the freight overboard, 
turned disaster into good advertising by painting “Liptoris Tea” on 
every package, thus making the name known to every ocean liner that 
picked up one of the stray packages. 

Helen Keller’s misfortune has developed a system of teaching the 
blind that has meant benefit to countless unfortunates, and her opti¬ 
mistic spirit has put to shame all malcontents, who pause to think 
of her wonderful courage. She is an illustration of one who has 
attracted happiness to herself by her own sweet nature. 

The most prolific hymn-writer in the world, blind for years, is 
said to have been the means of converting more people to Christianity 
than any revivalist. She lived, as well as wrote, words of praise and 
thanksgiving. At her death every newspaper in the country not only 
printed the story of her life, but gave her full and generous credit 
for the good she had accomplished, and as a consequence, Fanny 
Crosby’s name will stand forever in the Hall of Fame. 

Instances could easily be multiplied, showing how resolute souls 
have conquered every condition, and have been victorious as a natural 
consequence of perseverance and determination. 

The average person fails occasionally to recognize the saving grace 
hidden in a disappointment, and commences to complain before she has 
tried to look at the other side. 

Birds could not fly unless it were for the resistance of the air. 
Trains refuse to “catch hold” on a smooth track. The wheels slip and 
it becomes necessary to sprinkle sand over the tracks in order to pro¬ 
duce a rougher surface. 

So-called “troubles” are better named “problems,” and are often 
blessings in disguise, for they show us our weak spots and thus pre¬ 
pare us for some greater test. 


24 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


IReferences 


GbinfUna ibarmoniousl? 

v. 


“Good thoughts are blessed guests and should be heartily welcomed, 
well fed, and much sought after. Like roses, they give out a sweet 
smell if laid up in the jar of memory.” 

Occasionally one will hear some one say—“I can’t see any use in 
practicing constructive thinking. I wanted success and I thought suc¬ 
cess and never feared failure, yet failure came to me." 

Investigate such a case and you will find this person a tense, nervous 
body, flying into a temper at the slightest provocation, blaming everyone 
for everything that goes wrong, condemning without investigating and 
keeping the entire family upset; or she is one of the people who bears 
a grudge and wants to “get even” with somebody, or she is morose 
and despondent about some condition, or is indulging in self-condemna¬ 
tion. In short, no matter who she is, if she exhibits worry, impatience, 
strife, resentment or keeps herself in a tense state repressing such 
emotions, she is developing a form of destructive thinking that will 
naturally prevent the development of her other mental pictures. 

You may say: “But I do try not to feel angry or resentful or im¬ 
patient. I do not worry and I do control myself, but a thought of this 
kind snatches me sometimes unawares, so what can I do but repress 
it instantly?” 

Here is another mistake: Repressing is as bad as expressing in 
many ways, because all energy must be embodied in some form. The 
proper way to handle these numberless little daily irritations is neither 
to repress nor express the thought they provoke, but, instead, replace 
them with a constructive thought by making some assertion such as— 
“These things have no power to upset me or take my ideas from suc¬ 
cess”—or “No one can hurt me but myself; my enemies cannot harm 
me unless I allow them to do so” or “I must not blame anyone. I can¬ 
not see all phases of the situation, hence I must believe he or she 
acted in a way that seemed best at the time”—or—“I am strong enough 


26 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


to handle any situation, this seeming annoyance is but a trial to see if 
my will power will sustain me.” 

By this system strong, helpful thoughts will so constantly replace 
the harmful ones that your idea of success will not be disturbed. 

The best musical instruments are those that have been so accus¬ 
tomed to the harmonious sounds produced by the masters, that to play 
upon them is a joy; while to hear them is indeed a rare treat long to be 
remembered. It is for this reason that musicians will pay almost any 
price for a violin that has been played upon by a master. 

The mind of a human being is much more sensitive than a violin 
and shows an immediate appreciation of harmonious thoughts con¬ 
structively expressed by added power. 

The first rule given for the use of the sub-conscious mind is to 
place the conscious mind in a calm, positive condition, keep it well 
poised and free from agitation. This does not mean for a few moments 
each day, or at night, or when expressing a desire; but, instead, main¬ 
taining this condition each day and all day and always before going to 
sleep so that the conscious mind may rest and the sub-conscious may 
work without hindrance. 

Harmonious thought is always manifested in a beautifully attractive 
and magnetic personality. It is not the easiest thing to acquire, but 
once the habit is established, the results will be so wonderfully pleasing 
that the work of securing it will never again be mentioned. 

Quarrels, heated arguments, criticism ofi others, listening to or re¬ 
peating petty gossip or scandal, attending morbid plays, reading about 
and discussing murders or stories of crime, living over past troubles; 
feeling jealousy, envy, or the desire to get even with some one, all will 
result in an inharmonious condition of mind. This, in turn, attracts 
more inharmonious thoughts and leads to despondency. 

All thought energy produces a thought atmosphere that is instantly 
perceived by anyone who is in the least sensitive. Just as the magnet 
attracts certain metals and repels others, so you, by your harmonious 
or inharmonious mental condition, either attract or repel the people in 
sympathy with your mood. 

The day that starts wrong can often be made right by a single effort 
of the will and the resolution not to be upset by trifles. 

A simple and effective method for overcoming an inharmonious 
condition, brought about by immediate proximity with some one who 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


27 


is forcefully sending out destructive thoughts, or by your own care¬ 
lessness in allowing these thoughts to remain in your mind, is to get 
away from every one for a few moments, sit down, relax, breathe 
deeply and rhythmically for a few moments and insist that you are in 
harmony with the universe. 

The constant repetition of the words—“I am harmony, I am har¬ 
mony, I am harmony,” has such a soothing effect, that it is strange 
it is not often used. 

Yet, because we take it for granted that people must indulge in 
destructive thoughts, no one is at all surprised when a relative or friend 
rushes wildly into a room, prances about, and exclaims, “I am so mad 
I can hardly stand it!” If the same person came in quietly declaring, 
“I am harmonious!” nearly everyone would look up in surprise or 
whisper to one another “Isn’t she queer?” 

Why? Merely because constructive thought is not used in every¬ 
day life by the majority of people, and so for that reason it is often 
well to think deeply and practice silently. 

A very practical illustration of the use of harmonious thought, or 
indeed the use of any thought, is made by comparing its action with 
that of the wireless telegraph. 

When this instrument was first proposed, the members of the “Can’t 
Club” were positive it was not feasible. It was discussed, proposed, 
rejected, revived, criticised and finally tried. The moment a message 
was sent and received the public were wildly enthusiastic, and the 
doubters forgot they had ever had anything but faith in the venture. 

Today, as a result of this invention, the doings of the world may 
be known by those in mid-ocean; the business man keeps track of 
his affairs; thousands of lives are saved. Yet all these wonderful 
advances have been made possible only because man thought, believed, 
worked and proved that a wireless station erected on land could convey 
a sound-wave to a station constructed on a liner in mid-ocean. 

The sending of thought waves is just as plausible, equally possible, 
and as truly practicable, for they may be sent longer distances and 
they travel with greater velocity. 

In this connection one must also bear in mind that a perfectly 
equipped wireless station must be able to send as well as receive mes¬ 
sages. Unless your instrument is perfectly attuned and in harmony, 
you cannot send clearly, nor can you receive the messages of health, 


28 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


prosperity, strength, and abundance as forcibly as they are sent, and 
most important of all, you separate yourself from your source of sup¬ 
ply—Universal Consciousness—by getting out of vibration. 

As soon as you are able to bear these facts in mind, you will make 
haste to banish even a trace of inharmony from your thoughts, for 
you will know that until you have acquired poise and self-control, your 
progress will be retarded by your own mental condition. 

One of the most eminent workers in this field of thought develop¬ 
ment states that he worked alone for five years before he saw the re¬ 
sults he desired from his efforts, because he was associated during this 
time with strong-minded, sarcastic, critical and antagonistic people. 
However, he persevered until he overcame, and now he is teaching the 
rest of the world from his own experience. 

You can make your wireless send out your messages of “Success,” 
until your thought is recognized; or if you so choose, you can spell 
“Failure.” Some will receive your message and respond. 

One little woman who has overcome much on her road to pros¬ 
perity, tells me she always thinks of her mind as a wireless station 
and she telegraphs, “Success,” “Love,” “Harmony,” and “Wealth” 
waves every day of her life. When things seem a little trying, she 
starts with “Harmony”; when everything is smooth she works hardest 
on “Success” and her messages bring back the answers she desires in 
the way of better business, truer friends, and more desirable ac¬ 
quaintances. 

“Like attracts like” is an infallible law in the thought world. If 
you desire “Harmony”—be harmonious yourself. 


Working, iRelaring 

VI. 

“Man must work, that is as certain as the sun, but he may work 
grudgingly or he may work gratefully, he may work as a man or 
as a machine. There is no work so rude he may not exalt it, no 
work so impassive that he may not breathe a soul into it, no work 
so dull that he may not enliven it.” 

“Man is kept alive by work, and dies either because he will not, or 
cannot work.” 

“If you want knowledge you must toil for it, if food, you must toil 
for it, and if pleasure you must toil for it.” 

“The best way to live is to work well. Good work is the daily test 
and safeguard of personal health.” 

After you have learned to breathe, think, and create a mental pic¬ 
ture, your desire to manifest your wish in your own life can only be 
brought about by the act of working. 

It may be that for some time after you have dreamed and planned, 
you will continue to work in the same old way as far as external ap¬ 
pearances go, but in reality you will be going ahead with a very dif¬ 
ferent feeling, for you will know you are fitting yourself for something 
better. You may be developing speed, accuracy, observation, knowl¬ 
edge of human nature, ability to execute or any one of a hundred qual¬ 
ities necessary in your bigger life. 

If you are wise enough to realize the benefit of working happily 
and easily; or starting at the right time and stopping when you have 
finished; if you know how to play as well as to work; and if you insist 
on a little playtime every day, you have really accomplished much. 

If, absorbed by the fascination of the subject, you keep on working 
twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, tensely and without interrup¬ 
tion, you will pay the penalty. 

Perhaps the one person who can be quoted as an exception to this 
rule, up to the present moment, is Thomas A. Edison, who has been 


30 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


known to work eighteen and even twenty hours without cessation, but 
he explains his powers of endurance by saying that to him work is play, 
and he feels that by his efforts he can give the world many things that 
will be of wonderful assistance. 

Working continuously is scarcely the rule in business today, as 
there are countless interruptions taking the mind and time of the 
workers, so that although office hours may be long, the hours spent 
in work are comparatively few. 

Working hard is not difficult, but working hard and worrying too, 
is destructive to both physical and mental force. 

Working well is impossible if one dislikes the work, carries personal 
grudges into daily life, fails to control the temper and has no self- 
confidence, and no desire to eliminate destructive thoughts. 

To continue to draw a salary for work done when you permit such 
conditions of mind to exist, is doing an injustice to three people: your¬ 
self, for you will deteriorate rather than progress; to your employer, 
for you are taking money and not giving value received; and to some 
other person who would, if given the opportunity, do gladly what you 
are doing halfheartedly. 

Your duty in such a case is either to withdraw and give someone 
else this chance, or stop being sorry for yourself because you do not 
draw a larger salary, and commence making yourself worthy of the 
one that you are drawing now. 

Instead of looking at your fellow workers with a critical eye, and 
looking at the business that is giving you a livelihood with positive 
loathing, take a mental inventory. Be honest with yourself and you 
will admit you are where you are because you are as you are, and that 
until you change, no progress is possible. 

Opportunities come to those who are ready for them, just as surely 
as night follows day, but you must know an opportunity when you see 
it. This will keep your mind alert. 

The world is full of people who are looking for sympathy because 
their work is not congenial, and well-meaning friends continue to be 
sorry for them instead of showing them that all this trouble is the re¬ 
sult of their own weakness and inefficiency. 

Sniveling men, always bewailing the fact they have not had a 
chance, weepy women, bemoaning their sad and lonely lot, will always 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


31 


exist, because they prefer to be parasites, not because they are obliged 
to remain in this condition. 

One young woman who came to me for help told me in tones of 
deepest self-pity that she cried herself to sleep nearly every night, 
because she was so lonesome, hated to work and couldn’t bear her 
employer. She had been in the same position for two years without 
any sign of advancement. I asked her if she had any way of knowing 
she had improved the work in her department since she had taken it 
and she answered “No.” Then I asked her if she had ever thought 
of any method of improving it and made the suggestions to her em¬ 
ployer. She replied, “Yes, I have thought of several things but I have 
been afraid to suggest them.” 

Next I asked her if she knew anyone beside herself who wai. alone 
in the city and if she had tried to make life less doleful for her. She 
looked positively surprised at this question and said, “Why no, why 
should I look up a stranger and try to make her happy? Everyone 
away from home will naturally feel blue.” 

With such a distorted viewpoint it would seem almost hopeless to 
try to aid anyone, but the mere fact that she came for aid showed 
she had the desire, so I gave her a list of Destructive Thoughts, ex¬ 
plained how they poisoned her mind, affected her health, made her 
unpopular, altered her facial expression and paralyzed her efforts. I 
asked how many she needed to keep in her present line of work. She 
blushed and admitted she did not need any of them. Then I gave her 
a list of Constructive Thoughts, the declaration for every day and told 
her to go away, cultivate a liking for her work and respect for her 
employer, and not to come back until she had gathered courage to make 
the suggestions for improvements in her department. 

In two weeks she told me she liked, her work better, and had made 
the acquaintance of another girl from the country and had encouraged 
her “not to be blue.” 

Two months passed before I saw her again and then she told me she 
felt she had conquered herself; she loved her work, was devoted to the 
firm and was now in charge of the office force. Best of all she said 
her own experience of overcoming helped her with the other young 
women in her work of development. 

I could mention hundreds of other cases, but space forbids. Suffice 
it to say that in general, the real reason why people do not make more of 
an effort to progress is because, unless their efforts meet with instant 
recognition, they feel they are not appreciated. 


32 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


I ask all those who have a better future in view to remember these 
truths: You are not working for appreciation but development. Every 
time you cheat, you cheat yourself. Every time you are careless, you 
develop more of the shiftless side of your nature. Every time you take 
advantage, you steal from your employer and yourself (your self- 
respect). Every time you steal time, you develop the tendency to pro¬ 
crastinate. Every time you hesitate to reprove those under you, you 
indulge in cowardice and injure them as well as yourself. Every time 
a thing is wrong, and you know it, you are committing a crime to allow 
it to go unchecked. Better be unpopular than dishonorable. 

Finally, to work well, is to work heartily, earnestly and honestly, 
seeing in all forms of work only that which is commendable and honor¬ 
able. 

The happiest people in the world are those who work hard, and 
who are busy at something all of the time. 

The most valuable crown is that of “work well done.” 

But before we stop telling about the beauties of work, we must also 
consider the necessity for relaxation. 

People who never relax are those who, instead of replacing an 
unhappy thought by a happy one, repress their emotions, thus always 
living in a tense condition. 

Repressing is dangerous—the explosion is sure to come, or there 
will be a breakdown. 

Replacing is natural, desirable and beneficial. 

After the day’s work, replace the thought of business by some form 
of amusement, or some interesting study, or something entirely dif¬ 
ferent. Whatever you decide on doing, make it something you can 
do easily. 

The same form of work you have been doing all day, may have a 
fascination for you; you may be like the laziest woman in Boston, who 
furnished more stockings for the soldiers than anyone else because 
when the needles and yarn were placed in her hands, she was too 
lazy to stop. 

Learn to relax and replace. If you feel your hands clenched and 
your teeth pressed, try to imitate the dog who has just come out of 
the river and shakes the water from him. Get up, stretch the body 
as though after a yawn and when you go to bed make every muscle 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


33 


limp, feel the idea of relaxation creeping over you and then, insisting 
that you will have a good night’s rest, declare as you breathe deeply, 
“I am harmony,” until you drop to sleep. 

The experience of a very noted lecturer, a woman who has done 
much for herself and more for others, will help you understand re¬ 
laxation far better than by any rules I can give you, so I will repeat 
her experience as given to her pupils: 

“For six years I used all the force of my nature, and I have 
a strong one, compelling things to come my way. I would even 
force people to listen and accept my method of thought as well 
as anything I had to sell. I kept my mind alert as to what my 
competitor was doing and I worried all the time for fear he would 
get ahead of me. So I worried, and compelled people, and worked 
day after day and night after night, too busy for any amusement, 
too tired for rest, too tense to relax. Yet I believed I was using 
thought, and that thought could make all thinks come to me. 
Finally, I broke down and immediately I abused every form of 
mental science, and went to a physician. He looked me over, told 
me I was simply the result of an underfed body and an over¬ 
worked mind, that my greatest need was absolute rest and re¬ 
laxation. 

“Relaxation was a word I didn’t like. I saw *no use for it, 
but as I could not work, I decided to rest. I went away to a 
quiet spot, and there I found a book. To this day I do not know 
who wrote that book, but the author in referring to life, said in 
substance: ‘In the garden you find lilies, roses, pansies, migon- 
nette, shrubbery of all kinds, growing peacefully side by side and 
taking from the air and sun and earth the nourishment needed, 
not by force or in spite of competition, but because of a natural 
law. They demand, expect, and receive. They show their beau¬ 
tiful faces to the world in the day time, and knowing the) have 
done their duty, they rest at night, contented to wait for the new 
day for further effort.’ 

“The little paragraph opened my eyes. I had not been using 
thought, but abusing it. I had been forcing instead of attracting, 
worrying instead of working easily, fearing competition, instead 
of making myself a center of such qualities that I would attract 
and hold that which I desired. 

“Then I started to discipline my own mind. It wasn’t easy, 
but I decided that if mind could take me into trouble, it must also 


34 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


be able to pull me out; so I changed the horses, used my will, made 
cheerfulness the driver and soon I was out of the ‘Slough of 
Despond’ and on the road of patient endeavor. 

“Every time anything went wrong, I would say to myself, 
just as fast and often as I could: ‘I am harmony, I am harmony, 
I am harmony.’ 

“When I felt the least bit in fear, I would say: ‘I am coui age, 
I am courage, I am courage.’ 

“When I was too tired to get up in the morning and inclined 
to be a little blue, I would first insist, ‘I am cheerful,’ then say ‘I 
am strength.’ 

“I read only cheerful books, sought cheerful companions, at¬ 
tended only bright plays and in a short time, my improvement was 
remarked by all. 

“Right here I want to add another precaution. I did not want 
to waste any time in arguing or hearing what someone else had 
done, so I refused to discuss my condition or my methods of work 
with anyone. 

“I never allowed a trouble, to dwell in my mind. Where for¬ 
merly I carried them about all day and then brought them out for 
review before I went to sleep, I not only finished them as they 
came up, but refused to think of them at all before retiring. 

“I always breathed deeply and rhythmically, relaxing con¬ 
sciously. As I breathed, I felt I was absorbing from the Uni¬ 
versal Consciousness, Power and Strength and Love and Protec¬ 
tion. No matter how tired or wearied I was, or am, this exercise 
is wonderfully beneficial. 

“It took me six months to get back what I had lost, but I 
had gained even more, for I am doing better work, getting more 
out of life, giving more to my friends, and my rules are these: 

“I work faithfully, conscientiously and happily. 

“I play just as faithfully and conscientiously. 

“I relax systematically every night and every time during the 
day that I have a moment by myself. 

“I have absolute faith in the ultimate outcome of my desires. 

“I have no fear of competition, criticism or loss. 

“I love life and feel ill will toward no human being.” 


^bought Elimination 

VII. 

“The key to every man is his thought; sturdy and defying though he 
look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which 
all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him 
a new idea which commands his own.” 

To develop the mind to the highest extent, it is necessary first of 
all to commence a work of elimination by absolutely banishing from 
the mental realm the five greatest criminals known. 

I refer to Anger, Hatred, Fear, Worry and Doubt. Where these 
thoughts exist, it is impossible for others to find an abiding place. 

They are usually associated in this manner: 

The man who hates vigorously and indulges his anger when forced 
to observe the object of his hatred, fears the results of the outburst. 
This induces a state of worry , and his mind is filled with doubt as to 
how he will be regarded in the future. 

Sq we shall regard Anger as a vandal destroying everything, with¬ 
out regard to value. 

Worry is a murderer, for when worry enters, peace of mind is 
killed. 

Hatred is a poisoner. One who hates intensely generates a poison 
that affects every function of the body and paralyzes the judgment. 

Fear is a highwayman, stealing every attribute that is of any value. 
Self-confidence, self-respect, courage, ambition, ability, in short every 
quality necessary for success, will be taken, as a matter of course. 

Doubt is a sneak-thief creeping about so cautiously, and working 
so carefully that one hardly realizes he has been successful' until a 
demand is made for faith, when behold, there is none left, for doubt 
has taken it all away. 


36 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Worry and Fear do a great deal of work together; in fact, they are 
almost invariably associated, as in this manner: The good house¬ 
keeper often worries about the cost of her food, or the wear on the car¬ 
pets, or the effect of the sun on the curtains, and fears that her 
money may not be enough to pay the bills. Forethought in planning 
for the house and such occurence is right, but to worry is wrong 
and to fear is worse, for as a result of the use of both these qualities, 
happiness is destroyed; but—the bills are not paid, nor is the cost of 
living decreased. 

The husband worries about expense, about his business, and what 
“the other firm is doing.” As a consequence he comes home moody and 
disturbed, gets angry if questioned, creates a most inharmonious en¬ 
vironment and accomplishes nothing. 

The young woman hates her more attractive companions, fears that 
she will not retain her own popularity, doubts her ability to please, 
and worries over her shortcomings until, in reality, she becomes a 
wall flower. 

The student doubts her ability to master the lessons, fears an 
examination, worries over the future, becomes angry when told of 
her deficiencies, and spends so much of her time in destructive thought 
that she loses her opportunity for developing constructive thinking. 

The servant breaks a dish and fearing reproval hides it, lies when 
questioned, worries lest the theft be discovered, and fails to de¬ 
velop efficiency. 

The young man loses his temper when reproved, fears the results 
in the way of being dismissed from his position, becomes discouraged 
and inefficient, and when he does lose his position blames everyone but 
himself, and worries about obtaining a new one. 

So instance after instance might be cited, showing positive, daily 
proof of the effect these mental criminals are bound to produce unless 
they are promptly exterminated. Indeed, if we may quote some of the 
really great thinkers, men who believe in “cheerful yesterdays and con- 
fidentdomorrows” to indulge in any of these conditions without making 
a determined effort to overcome them is either idiocy or insanity— 
there is no middle course. 

The thought world and the material world are the same in this re¬ 
spect—“two objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time.” 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


37 


Be honest with yourself. Before whining over your hard luck or 
your trouble or your failure, take a mental inventory. Don’t imagine 
it is necessary to go through a lot of mental torture to do this. Just 
replace the destructive thought by its opposite idea, and in a very short 
time you will find yourself refusing to allow any but the most helpful 
ideas an abiding place. 

The accompanying list will give you an idea of what your work 
will be. You can, of course, add to or take from this indefinitely. 

Benjamin Franklin found that in his own work of cultivating good 
qualities, it was well to take an inventory each night to see just how 
far he had progressed in his work of self reform. As a consequence 
of this self-imposed task, he transformed himself from a hot-headed 
man inclined to argue a question before he had heard it fully discussed, 
to a patient listener, who gained his point by agreeing with the good 
points presented, while uncovering the bad ones. This trait, as it 
developed, soon gave him a reputation as a diplomat, and to it he owed 
much of his success. 

The moment you experience a destructive thought, look for its 
antonym, and persist in keeping your mind fixed upon it. Your mind 
is subject to your will. Act accordingly. 


Destructive Thoughts 

You 

Will Eliminate 

Constructive Thoughts 
You 

Will Cultivate 

Anger. 


Carelessness . 


Changeableness . 


Condemnation. 


Criticism . ... 


Dependence . 


Deception. 


Destruction ... •. 


Discord.•.. 


Doubt. 


Failure.•. 














38 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Destructive Thoughts 

Constructive Thoughts 

— Continued 

—Continued 

Fault-finding. 


Fear . 


Fretfulness . 


Gossip. 


Grief . 

.Joy 

Hatred 


Indifference. 


Indolence. 


Indecision. 


Irritation . 


Intemperance. 


Jealousy-•. 


Lack. 


Lack of Desire. 


Lying . 


Poverty. 

...Wealth 

Procrastination. 


Pretense. 


Revenge .... •. 


Selfishness. 


Self-Pity . 


Self-Depreciation . 


Sickness. 


Trouble. 


Vacillation . 


Weakness.•. 


Worry . 






























^binhtna Constructively 

VIII. 

‘‘Sow a thought and reap an act, 

Sow an act and reap a habit, 

Sow a habit and reap a character, 

Sow a character and reap a destiny.” 

No matter how well you are doing today, the most natural feeling 
in the world is the desire to do still better. The hardest thing, though, 
is to admit that you can do far better than you are doing right now, 
by using greater care in your work, better judgment, and more energy. 

A really capable person can never be discouraged, kept down, un¬ 
derpaid, or undervalued. If you are not getting what you are worth, 
look over your garden of thoughts and commence a weeding-out pro¬ 
cess. You will need it, or otherwise you would be desiring one thing 
and possessing another. 

Of course, you are like many others who feel the only way to secure 
their “heart’s desire,” or “gratify their life’s ambition,” is to go away, 
try some new occupation, meet different people; in short, do anything 
rather than make good here and now. “What shall I do?” “Where 
shall I go?” “How shall I begin?” are the questions one hears every 
day. The answer is the same to every question, in every age, in every 
country to everybody: 

“First of all overcome yourself by eliminating your faults and culti¬ 
vating your best qualities in your present environment, keeping the 
truth constantly before you, that success is yours when you have 
learned to ask wisely, plan clearly, act promptly and use daily the 
forces of your two minds—the conscious and the sub-conscious.” 

Your experience may be compared to that of the young writer, 
who sought vainly in his village for material from which he could 
construct a wonderful novel. While he was searching, a re¬ 
nowned writer came to the town. The youthful genius obtained an 
interview and asked eagerly—“Where shall I look for the plot for the 


40 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


book I desire to write?” The renowned writer smiled at him kindly, 
and then said: “My boy, unless you can find a plot in your mother’s 
back yard, you will never make a writer!” 

So with you, if you desire what you have not, stop complaining 
about it, or about other people. “Overcoming” is a term you are to 
use literally by becoming master of the situation. 

Railing at conditions, whining over hard luck, telling how sick you 
have been, or what an operation you had, bringing up disagreeable 
reminiscences, minding the business of other people, gossiping, attrib¬ 
uting failure to hard times or location or the influence of others, declar¬ 
ing—“Some people have luck, but I have to work hard for all I get”; 
or “I never get what I want,” and the use of similar expressions—all 
these things must be stopped. 

But, you must go farther and guard your thought as well as your 
speech. Insist that you have certain qualities of mind. Know that 
certain thoughts are dangerous and harmful. Keep at your work 
of replacing till you know you are thinking constructively and your 
first victory will have been gained. The more difficult your situation, 
the more trying your associates, the greater the victory, when, under 
such conditions, you can so master yourself as to alter your habit of 
thought. 

You will be surprised at the change in your tastes, your desires, 
even in your affections, as you progress. You will become more 
charitable, because you will see, when others do wrong, that it is be¬ 
cause they have been thinking destructively and they themselves must 
pay the penalty. 

You will stop looking for sympathy as you learn how silly it is to 
feel sorry for yourself, because your feelings have been hurt. No one 
can hurt your feelings, unless you allow them to do so. You won’t 
be snubbed, because to feel anyone has slighted you and thus upset 
you is being foolish enough to punish yourself for the other person’s 
fault. 

You will stop crying or pouting over trifles, or indulging in fits of 
the blues, not only because they are not consistent with constructive 
thought, but also because they hurt your personal appearance. 

You will see good qualities in every one, including the people you 
formerly regarded as enemies, and you will listen to criticism from 
those you have formerly disliked with a feeling of gratitude, because 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


41 


you have learned the lesson that “the wise man throws himself on 
the side of his assailants, for it is more to his interest than it is to 
theirs to find his weak points.” 

You will even develop to such an extent, that you will refuse to 
listen to evil stories about others, remembering the old saying, that, 
“the itching ear betrays the forked tongue,” and you will wish to 
avoid temptation. 

Finally, you will find as a result of all these improvements, that no 
matter who is discussed, you will be able to find something good to say, 
rather than something bad to add zest to the conversation. 

By this time your ideas of what you desire will also have changed 
materially, and you will realize the common-sense idea of allowing the 
“voice from within” to suggest what is best for you, rather than be 
influenced by the. suggestions of your associates who are thinking along 
different lines. v 

It is well to commence by choosing something you know you need, 
then feel you can acquire it, see yourself possessing it, and live as 
though you already had it. By keeping this thought you will soon 
see the value of thinking constructively. Then you can pass on to 
bigger things. 

Ideas naturally vary. One woman may want to study and excel in 
music, another wants a beautiful home, still another’s fancy takes her 
to Europe, another wants a prosperous business, while one may desire 
to write. Very well then, see yourself receiving the applause of the 
multitude for your music, living in the beautiful home, traveling 
abroad, conducting a splendidly paying business, or writing popular 
books. Furthermore, every effort that can tend toward helping the 
realization of this desire must be made each day. All thought and 
no effort would be a very slow method of accomplishing results. 

Before commencing serious work in the directions of working for 
that which is desired, you must be sure that you do desire it more 
than anything else, and that you have a clear idea of ju^t what you 
want and how you want it. If your picture is vague and cloudy, your 
realization will be the same. If you change your mind frequently, you 
will delay your progress accordingly. If you allow doubt or depression 
01* fear to enter your mind, you will not be able to progress at all. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


rceferences 


£be Subconscious fllMnb 

IX. 


“It is through the subconscious self that Shakespeare must have 
perceived, without effort, great truths which are hidden from the 
conscious mind of the student; that Phidias worked in marble and 
bronze; that Raphael painted the Madonna, and Beethoven com¬ 
posed symphonies.” 

Having become absolutely certain that you desire certain things 
and that you can keep your mind concentrated upon this desire, the 
ne?ft step on the road to success depends upon the understanding and 
use of your two minds. 

To show you the powerful influence of this other mind—that all 
possess but so few use—it may be well to know what the greatest 
students have conceded: that when one is depending upon the con¬ 
scious mind alone, but from three to ten per cent of one’s self is put 
into expression. 

One scientist declares: “At least ninety per cent of our mental 
operations are sub-conscious. We sit and try to solve a problem and 
fail. Suddenly an idea dawns that leads to the solution of the prob¬ 
lem. The sub-conscious processes were at work. We do not voli- 
tionally create our own thinking. It takes place within us. We are 
more or less passive recipients.” 

In order that everyone may understand at least his possession of 
two minds, let us compare them. 

Your conscious mind directs your most important actions; controls 
the voluntary motions; reasons, compares, weighs, measures, tastes, 
hears, smells, sees, feels, and controls the cerebro-spinal nervous 
system. 

The sub-conscious mind controls the digestion, circulation, elimina¬ 
tion, respiration and involuntary action. It directs the life forces 
where to manifest and where to cease. It is a register for events in 
your life, for every word spoken or heard, for every thought, whether 


44 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


for good or evil, and controls the sympathetic nervous system. It is 
this mind that warns one against false friends, suggests certain pro¬ 
cedures, and tells one that a deed is right or wrong. 

Many people who would refuse to listen to the idea of having two 
minds, will at the same time insist that whenever they follow a “hunch”, 
they are right. “Hunches or mental warnings” are nothing but the 
answers sent back from the sub-conscious mind to the desire expressed 
by the conscious mind for guidance or wisdom. 

While under an anaesthetic or asleep, the conscious mind is inert. 
The sub-conscious mind cannot rest a moment, because it has charge 
of the respiration, digestion and circulation. The conscious mind 
voices a thought, or thinks deeply, and the sub-conscious registers that 
thought, exactly as the wax cylinder of the dictaphone registers the 
voice. Consequently, you can get back from the sub-conscious mind 
only that which you have given it. 

For instance, to use a familiar example, let us compare the use of 
the conscious and sub-conscious to the act of churning butter. The 
sub-conscious has a memory and record of all events both good and 
evil. The conscious mind requests the sub-conscious to work upon a 
certain problem, saying: “I desire the best results and want your help 
on the solution of this problem,” naming anything desired. Imme¬ 
diately, the sub-conscious mind sets to work just as the churn would 
be used in the cream, separating the thought materials into thought 
forms that may be used by the conscious mind just as the hands would 
use a material object. If the process of churning is interrupted from 
time to time and the attention deflected, results will, of course, be 
correspondingly slow. 

For this reason, after a request is made, the conscious mind must 
not allow emotions such as anger, doubt, or fear to be expressed or 
held for one instant. In addition to the desire to accomplish a certain 
result there must also be faith that this desire will be granted, and this 
calm, positive condition must be held constantly until results have 
been attained. 

One of the most common examples of how not to obtain help from 
the sub-conscious mind may be noted in the use of the following ex¬ 
pressions, so frequently heard: “I want to succeed, but what is the 
use, I never have any luck”; or, “I want to study, but I can’t get time 
to read”; or, “I want to be popular, but people do not like me”; or, 
“I want a better position but I am afraid to seek it.” 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


45 


The very people who voice these expressions will declare that they 
want a thing with all their hearts. In reality, they have not even com¬ 
menced to want anything, because, if they really wanted and believed 
they would say toi others as well as to themselves—“We want to suc¬ 
ceed, and we are going to do it,” and they would stick to this assertion 
until they achieved their desire, in spite of wind, weather, or woeful 
tribulations. 


46 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


IReferences 


impressing tbe Subconscious 

SELECTING YOUR MENTAL PATTERN 

X 

“The eye that never falters, the nerve that never weakens, the 
courage that is never wanting; these are the factors necessary for 
success.” 

The man who would build a castle would never go in search of a 
hovel to use as a pattern, nor would he begin his plan by allowing 
his mind to dwell on the cheapest, poorest dwelling he had ever beheld. 

Instead he lives with his head in the clouds, drawing mental pictures 
of this wondrous construction of massive stones—huge archways— 
marble balustrades—winding corridors made from selected onyx. He 
sees spacious grounds filled with miniature lakes, fountains fringed 
with choicest ferns, conservatories in which rare flowers from every 
part of the world are growing. 

When he gives to the world his vision, men crown him as a genius. 

He has but created his mental image and then built his habit of 
thought about it. 

So with us in our daily work. If we plan for the best, with the best, 
failing to recognize any hindrances, but seeing ahead always the fin¬ 
ished and perfected ideal, we can attain to heights that were otherwise 
absolutely beyond our wildest imaginings. 

Our lives are limited only by our thoughts. The sun shines on all 
alike—rich and poor. The rain falls on all alike—the just and the un¬ 
just. The optimist and the pessimist walk side by side down the same 
street, seeing the same people, hearing the same conversations, and 
each one returns filled with proofs of his own belief, which he has se¬ 
cured through his own mental deductions. 

Two artists enter the same class at the same time. One becomes 
famous, the other a failure. Yet the instruction, the palettes and the 


48 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


paints were the same. One saw clearly that which he desired to re¬ 
produce, the other had but a hazy vision and this was all he could give 
to the world. 

Two housewives have the same amount of income. The one is 
happy, well clothed and lives in comfort. The other is shabby, un¬ 
comfortable, wrangles with everyone, blaming the world for her mis¬ 
fortunes. 

So instances might be multiplied indefinitely, in which absolute 
proof could be given that the degree of success attained means, in¬ 
variably, the proficiency with which constructive thought is used. 

No matter what you desire, do not put a limit on it. Once you know 
what you desire, keep on desiring it and believing that you will get it. 

To wish for wealth for five minutes a day and talk “hard times” 
and “lack” for five or ten hours, can bring you nothing. If you desire 
abundance, consider that it means not only enough for all your needs 
but a surplus besides. 

You have tried the old way—imagined, experienced, and suffered 
from lack; now try the new way. Think abundance, talk abundance, 
believe in it and assert it. 

You realize that there is more than enough air for everyone to 
breathe and that pure air supplies the blood with oxygen and re¬ 
vitalizes the body—yet, not one person in ten remembers to take ad¬ 
vantage of this abundance of air! Hence thousands of people die daily 
—because they do not think about breathing properly, every time they 
have the opportunity. 

Consider abundance in the same way:—feel as though you were 
floating in a very sea of abundance, then proceed to think constructively 
until your mind becomes so stimulated, electrified and magnetized that 
everything necessary to produce abundance that comes in your vicinity 
will be attracted to you, as the ordinary magnet attracts the steel filings. 

Many people ask—“How can we declare we have abundance when 
our pockets are empty, our bills are unpaid and we lack for neces¬ 
sities?” This is a hard question, but the fact remains, that if you are 
capable of thinking abundance and sticking to it in spite of what you 
see, you can be sure of realizing quickly something for your immediate 
needs, because you are putting yourself in relation with the current 
of abundance. 

The loaves and fishes fed a multitude in olden times, and the truth 
of the parable is the same now as then. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


49 


If you are through with poverty, stop talking or thinking about it. 
Think, feel, and talk “plenty” instead. 

Stop saying “I would love to have a Paquin model, but I can’t afford 
it!” Either say nothing at all or else if questioned, say “I prefer to 
use my money in some other way!” 

Stop talking about the unemployed, and those who are living in 
abject poverty. Help them—certainly—remembering as you do so, 
that many of them will always be as they are, because of lack of desire 
to be anything else. 

Stop conversing with everyone you meet about the lack of money 
and the “hard times” and the failures. 

All of these subjects are connected with destructive thought and are 
not visitors in the portion of your mind which you are endeavoring to 
improve. 

So you see it all comes back to you and what you want. Your 
absolute certainty that you want certain things with all the force and 
strength there is in you is the first necessary factor of success. 

Now, do not get impatient at the constant repetition of being sure of 
what you want. Try an experiment upon your friends as well as with 
yourself. 

The best known psychologists have declared that the one reason 
why the majority of people do not get what they want is because they 
do not desire the same thing three days in succession and consequently 
progress in attainment is impossible. 

For your own satisfaction, get ten young women to write down 
what they really desire, and in three days’ time ask them again, in 
another three ask them once more. You will find in their cases, as in 
your own, not one out of the ten will even remember just how she 
worded her request, and the great number of them will say, “I think 
I would rather have this.” 

In order to train yourself for the work of acquiring that which you 
desire, you must first consider the subject carefully. Then write down 
clearly what you want, being careful not to say, “I want to attain a 
certain state at a definite time.” The time limit must not enter into any 
calculation. Just make your request. Read it the next morning and 
keep on reading it every day for a week. If at the end of that time 
you still feel the same, you may be reasonably certain that you do know 
what you want and then you may go on to the work of learning how to 
use the sub-conscious mind for producing the desired results. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 




IReferences 


Tflslng tbc Subconscious TElnber tbe Best Conditions 

XI 

“When I desire to plan great things, I go to the woods, throw 
myself on the ground; and there, away from the chatter and. clatter 
of the world, in the great silence, I lose my petty self, and be¬ 
come one with the Universal Consciousness, and apart from all that 
would confuse me, I become able to dare all, do all and become all 
I would be.” 

The habit of getting away from people for even a little time, so 
that one may think without interruption, is one to be cultivated. 

There are many expressions for this being alone, some people call 
it concentration, others, “going into the silence.” I say, it is just get¬ 
ting away from the outside world so that I may get in touch with the 
world inside. Before instructing the subconscious, the mind should 
be free from worry, clear and harmonious. 

A very simple rule easily practiced is this: either on retiring, or 
at any more convenient time in the day, taken fifteen or thirty minutes, 
which you may devote to yourself. Open the window, breathe rhyth¬ 
mically and deeply, keeping your mind intent on the question of 
improving yourself. Relax every muscle in the body, so that there 
is no tenseness to be felt anywhere and imagine yourself to be receiv¬ 
ing from the Universal Consciousness rays of happiness, success and 
abundance. In reality your conscious mind is thus drawing into the 
subconscious the working materials necessary for the fulfillment of 
your desires. Next, state your desires concisely, and request the sub¬ 
conscious to work out your problems. 

Say little about your plans to others. Wait until they materialize. 
If you planted seeds in your garden you would not constantly dig 
them up to show to curious friends. They would never start grow¬ 
ing under such treatment. So it is with your thought plans, every 
time you talk them over and discuss them you weaken their power 
to develop. Cultivate the habit of silence regarding your plans and 
you will accomplish the sooner. This, of course, applies particularly 


52 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


to personal matters. Many times business matters must be discussed, 
but even matters of this type should only be talked over with people 
who can give intelligent and helpful advice. 

Idle conversation, negative thoughts, careless criticisms, all are 
found on the path that leads to failure. All great successes in life 
are the result of the conscious or unconscious accceptation of these 
general rules. First think, then choose, then bend every effort, mental, 
moral and physical toward accomplishment. 

We have all read the old fairy stories of the cruel witches who 
compelled the poor children to work beyond their strength, and of 
how every little while some good child would fall asleep over the work 
that she had carefully commenced. Immediately, the fairy folk would 
come swarming in and finish every bit of work that had been started 
or planned. The fairies of the subconscious mind will do the same 
work, but it must be started, before they can work on it. Then they 
will keep at it cheerfully, day and night, until it is finished. 

In every-day life, we see numerous instances of men and women 
who accomplish so much more than their fellow-workers that they are 
called phenomenal. Those who accomplish through force and use of 
nervous energy become physical wrecks in a few years. Others, who 
know how to conserve their energies, depending on the work of both 
the conscious and subconscious minds and the aid of the Universal 
Consciousness, grow younger rather than older and develop with the 
years instead of deteriorating. 

Using the subconscious mind is so easy that it seems very difficult. 
Just treat it as you would an intimate friend, talk to it and believe in 
it, using-the same “faith that enables the competent pilot to steer the 
boat past the most dangerous shoals on the darkest night.” He cannot 
see, but he feels and knows. 

A simple method practiced by many with great success, consists 
of a habit of holding a conversation with the subconscious every night 
before going to sleep, after this manner: “A number of things have 
gone wrong today for which I was entirely to blame and I have im¬ 
pressed you with a number of error-thoughts which I know will im¬ 
pede my progress. So I ask you to erase all memory of my bad 
temper, the gossip I have taken valuable time to heed, the idle chatter 
I have uttered, the unkind act9 I have committed, the jealous thoughts 
I have entertained; and instead keep only the good thoughts and kind 
acts and sensible words. I desire to be able to put more confidence 
in myself and I ask you to assist me in obtaining this result.” 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


53 


No matter what your request may be—so that it does not mean 
the influencing of another person—if you ask with real faith and be¬ 
lief, keeping your mind well poised and free from agitation, repeating 
your request not only at night but several times during the day, as the 
matter occurs to you, you will soon begin to note changes. In a short 
time your friends will remark upon the change and in time your de¬ 
sire will be manifested. If, on the other hand, you are like the old 
lady who prayed to have the mountain removed, and the next morning 
looked out and said, “There, I just knew the old mountain would be 
there”—your progress will be just as hers was—estopped. 

In connection with this use of the subconscious you must, of course, 
use discrimination. For example, you have the right to desire and 
expect improvement in a condition such as health, wealth, success and 
happiness, but you must not desire this to come to you through some¬ 
one else, nor in any special way. You simply make a request, con¬ 
sider the features of your problem carefully, and then pass them on 
to your subconscious mind, feeling that you have dismissed the entire 
matter from your mind as you would by dropping it through a trap 
door. Knowing that your decision will come later as a result of this 
work, pass on to other subjects, until you again feel compelled to 
repeat the process. 

With a beginner it may even be necessary to make the assertion— 
“I dismiss this matter from my mind and give it to my subconscious¬ 
ness for consideration.” Then go about your business and wait for 
results. Possibly, because of some little forgotten worry or fret, re¬ 
sults may not come as expected. Very well, commence your work 
all over again knowing that you can obtain results just as soon as you 
set to work properly. Never get discouraged or out of temper, but 
persevere in spite of all setbacks. Your reward will be certain. 

Often, it is an excellent idea to commence your experiment with 
a very simple proposition, one that requires an answer for the next 
day, and then try to make your request at night, believe you will get it, 
dismiss the matter from your mind and go to sleep. 

If you have followed directions, you will usually receive your reply 
in the morning, in the guise of an impression that it will be best for 
you to do a certain thing in a certain manner. 

The use of the subconscious is a fascinating subject, and one that 
needs much consideration in a number of ways. Some of these we 
*hall continue to discuss. 


54 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


IReferencea 


SuGGeetion ant) fluto-SuGGestton 
— Gbetr Uses 

XII. 

The Spirit of the Plague entered the gate. 

One watching asked, “How many wilt thou take?” 

“One thousand,” spake the Spirit, “is my quest.” 

The Plague made end; the Spirit left the gate. 

The watcher cried, “Ten thousand did’st thou slay.” 

“Nay one,” the Spirit cried, “Fear killed the rest.” 

With all the investigation, curiosity and real interest exhibited in 
every form of science, it is still strange how many otherwise intelli¬ 
gent people speak of “Suggestion” and “Auto-suggestion” as though 
they were some forces not to be used by ordinary people. 

Yet we are all affected by Suggestion every day. If we are strong, 
the impression may be neither deep nor lasting, but we are affected 
just the same. 

Suggestion does not necessarily mean speech or the exhibition 
of some occult power. For instance, a friend enters the room frown¬ 
ing, immediately his face suggests to us that he is displeased. He may 
even try to control his expression but we know, though he is trying to 
keep the truth, from us. 

The warm grasp of a hand can convey a suggestion of encourage¬ 
ment or friendliness, while the face expresses nothing and the lips are 
silent. 

The sweet odor coming in at the windows tells that the garden 
is in bloom; you can even detect certain flowers though you do not see 
them. 

The moment food is placed in your mouth you can distinguish 
sweet from sour, or even know what you are eating though the cook 
may have tried to mislead you. 

The sound of music varies often, but you can tell the difference 
between the amateur and the artist, the little German band and Sousa. 


56 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


The beggar woman knows, if she looks too well dressed, she will 
receive no alms; she affects rags. 

The business man knows that a shabby appearance is detrimental; 
he makes every effort to appear at his best. 

Add to the evidence of the senses the spoken word and your 
method of suggestion will be stronger. 

For instance, greet a friend with the phrase; “How badly you 
look, I think you are threatened with an illness!” and you may send 
him home sick. Ignore his appearance and tell him of some amusing 
incident and he will feel better all day. 

Are any of your family tired? Sympathy is better expressed by 
changing the subject than by saying, “You poor thing, how tired you 
are! That work is just killing you!” 

On the other hand, tell a friend how well she looks. Immediately 
her eyes brighten, her face lights up and she is better. 

Tell a pupil she is doing well and you will see an instant response 
in facial expression. Tell her she is stupid and hopeless and she will 
stop all endeavor. 

That is why, when ill or depressed, it is well for one to get away 
from all whose faces or words suggest more illness or more troubles. 
Relax, breathe deeply and insist that from the Universal Conscious¬ 
ness a fresh supply of strength and courage may be obtained and is 
coming to you that very moment. 

The question is often brought up to me, “Do you think it is pre- 
sumptious to affirm power, health, wealth, wisdom, harmony? Is it 
lacking in respect to the Creator?” 

The answer is indeed simple. 

In the beginning the Lord created Heaven and Earth. Since the 
beginning every person born must have, then, the elements of divinity 
within. These elements need only recognition and development. 
Therefore, to say you have these attributes and can develop them is 
recognizing and appreciating the Creator in an endeavor to improve. 

Every instant you live, you create something, either good or evil. 

Auto-suggestion or affirmation of the good, will help you to create 
constructively and keep your resolution strong. Therefore to affirm 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


57 


your possession of that which must have been created in your mind 
before you could desire, is practical and scientific. 

The moment you plant the “desire for success” seed in your mind 
you are simply acknowledging the act by asserting: “I am success,” for 
you are success in the degree of your own creative ability. 

If you planted a flower seed in your garden you would not deny 
the fact nor call the flower a weed. You would say, “I have planted 
a nasturtium. It is a nasturtium,” and you would use every effort to 
make it grow into a perfect flower. 

Use the same method with your Thought Seeds. 


58 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


\ 


■References 



practicing Suggestion 

XIII. 

You know that you are daily receiving and giving suggestion. 

Why not, then, develop the power to give to those near you only 
helpful suggestions? 

For instance, in correcting any one, if you must mention a fault 
as something to be overcome, be sure to present the picture of what 
can be done and let that be uppermost in the mind when your inter¬ 
view terminates. 

If John is inclined to be parsimonious, instead of mentioning this 
fault, say “John, I know you are inclined to save, but I believe you 
should also know the joy of giving.” 

If Mary is inclined to be indolent, suggest getting up a little earlier 
and practicing some physical exercises as an aid to beauty. 

If the servant is inclined to be impudent but has other good qual¬ 
ities, be especially polite to her and explain how much good breeding 
can do for every one. 

If one of your family is ill, do not listen to nor discuss symptoms. 
Think of some bright story; talk of something else; do anything to 
change the trend of thought. 

In this connection a well known writer observes: “The number 
of people who have died as the result of the adverse suggestions of 
well meaning friends and relatives, can probably never be estimated. 
When physically ill, the person is peculiarly susceptible to sugges¬ 
tion, and it is at this time that one should shower the invalid with 
health and happiness suggestions, not talk pain and think of funerals.” 

True sympathy consists in an effort to make trouble less, not 
greater. Hence the advisability of suggesting some thought that will 
replace the destructive one and cause a far better condition of mind. 


60 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Fond mothers, devoted wives, loving sisters, dear friends, only too 
often by their persistency in a notion of duty toward their loved ones, 
send them so many adverse suggestions that they make bad matters 
worse. 

If you really care for any one, take ten or fifteen minutes a day 
and spend it thinking for them. This “thought letter” will do much 
in cases where it is impossible to visit with the sick one. 

Make it a rule of your life to hold the health and success thought; 
send the harmony, well-being and good-cheer thought; and bury the 
worry and fear thoughts forever. 

Suggestion and fore-thought work admirably together for good. 
Suggestion and fear-thought produce only evil results. 

Suggestion cannot be overestimated as a power, for it forms nine- 
tenths of your opinions. 

It is suggestion that causes you to desire what you see displayed 
in the window, and to make up your mind as to whether the buyer 
for that particular store has exerted good judgment, and the window 
trimmer has shown skill, in displaying the products. 

It is suggestion that causes you to decide whether a woman is or¬ 
derly or slovenly; well bred or vulgar; desirable or undesirable as a 
neighbor or acquaintance by the manner in which she conducts her¬ 
self and the way in which she dresses. 

Your favorite minister suggests to you by his life that religion 
is a good thing. Your doctor suggests relief from pain; your lawyer 
good judgment. 

You attend motion pictures because the actors are clever enough 
to suggest nearly every emotion. 

Every act of your own, every expression, every word you utter 
suggests something, either for good or evil to some one else. 

You have the ability and opportunity to choose which way you 
will use this power—to impress people with the right ideas or the 
wrong ones; to act as an example for good or a warning of what to 
avoid; to appear as a success or a failure; to be wretched or happy; 
poor or prosperous. 


Sending Suggestions 

XIV. 

Did it ever occur to you to try and alleviate the sufferings of a 
friend by sending suggestions of health instead of directing a '‘worry 
thought” toward her? 

“I don’t know how,” you will object, immediately. 

You do know how, or will, if you but follow these very simple 
directions. 

All that is necessary is that you be possessed of an earnest desire 
to cure the sick person, concentrate your mind on this subject before 
going to sleep, and direct your subjective mind to occupy itself during 
the night in conveying the suggestion of health to your friend. 

It is best not to acquaint any one with your intention—not even the 
person treated—for this might arouse skepticism and create adverse 
thought. 

It is wisest to select night time, for during sleep the conscious 
mind is passive and the subjective mind receptive, and natural sleep 
being the most perfect passive condition makes it an ideal time to send 
such a suggestion. 

Then, too, if you request your subjective mind to continue these 
suggestions during the night, you will not have to make any effort to 
concentrate your mind, because you, too, will be passive when your 
conscious mind sleeps. 

One young woman who experimented in this way, reports that she 
has proof that she has helped nearly two hundred cases, and at the 
same time is enjoying the best health she has ever known. She at¬ 
tributes it to the fact that she has employed her subjective mind so 
constantly with health thoughts that they have re-acted favorably 
upon herself. 


62 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


You may object again: “I don’t want to appear selfish, but how 
can my subjective mind do things for me and help heal the sick, too?” 

This is possible, just as your objective mind works all day upon a 
number of things, giving attention first to one thing and then to an¬ 
other, until the day’s work is done. 

Follow your regular system of breathing, relaxing, affirming and 
requesting. Think intently upon your friend or friends and request 
your subjective mind to carry the message of health and repeat it until 
it has been heeded. 

You may have a friend in deep sorrow. Send her a message of 
cheerfulness. You may have one who has suffered financial loss. 
Send her a message of prosperity. 

Every helpful thought you send out in this way will not only help 
others, but will in turn benefit you. 

Indeed, there are many who assert that their own prosperity and 
happiness commenced when they learned the fallacy of weeping with 
their friends and extending worry thoughts, and changed to the art 
of cheering their friends and sending messages of health, prosperity, 
success and happiness. 

Possibly one explanation for this improvement is that in order to 
send a message, they were obliged to get their own thoughts into a 
harmonious condition, and went to sleep at peace with themselves and 
the world. 

Faith, desire to help, concentration and the request are the only 
requirements. Don’t delay in your attempt to help others! Begin at 
once! 


autosuggestion 

xv. 

Suggestion and auto-suggestion belong to the same family with 
this difference. 

Auto-suggestion means conveying a thought, impression, command 
or affirmation to yourself, while suggestion is used for some one else. 

The woman who says: “I will succeed,” is practicing auto-sugges¬ 
tion. The woman who whines, “I can’t succeed,” is doing the same 
thing. One is conveying a constructive thought to her subconscious 
mind, the other a destructive thought. 

Miraculous cures, such as those made at the Lourdes in France, 
St. Anne du Beaupre in Canada, the shrine of St. Rita and other 
similar places, have all been brought about by auto-suggestion. Those 
who have been healed have constantly asserted that when they reached 
these places they would be healed, and the faith and constant repeti¬ 
tion helped to make their statements true. 

An auto-suggestion is therefore only a statement made to the 
subconscious mind by the conscious mind. 

Now, some one will ask: “Why is it necessary to tell a fact to 
a mind that knows everything, and then keep on repeating it?” 

For this reason:—men’s minds are curiously complex, and have for 
many, many years been prone to destructive thought, hence they are 
apt to receive adverse suggestions and be influenced by those two ene¬ 
mies of progress—Doubt and Fear. 

Therefore, repetition is advisable, necessary and helpful, for it 
strengthens the will and keeps the matter constantly in mind, making it 
difficult for any adverse thought to protrude itself. 

For this reason all Mental Scientists, Christian Scientists and New 
Thought workers have used affirmations or auto-suggestions in the 
place of prayer. 


64 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Keep at your affirmation with faith and will, and your thought 
will blossom into an act. 

The small boy who whistles loudest as he goes up a dark street 
suggests courage to his comrades, while he is using the whistle as 
an auto-suggestion to himself of “I am not afraid!” 

The young woman who declares “I will succeed,” is using auto¬ 
suggestion for success. 

Auto-suggestions may be made at any time, though, of course, the 
best time of all is when the body is relaxed and the mind clear and 
free from interruption. 

For this reason either after relaxing at night or before arising in 
the morning have been selected as the times at which such state¬ 
ments are particularly beneficial, though of course they can be made 
through the day as well, and always when needed. 

To say to yourself when tempted to be impatient, “I can control 
myself,” or when annoyed, “I am master of the situation,” or when 
perplexed, “Things will come out right,” will help at any time in the 
day. 

By remembering that the subjective or sub-conscious mind is 
a separate mind, and that it has control of the functions of the body, 
one can often cure a nervous headache by using auto-suggestion. 

For instance, recognizing the fact that your statements will affect 
your subjective is the first step. Then assert that your headache is 
leaving, and keep at this until you feel a change, then say, “It is 
growing less, it is growing less” and then the first moment pain has 
ceased, announce the fact, “My headache is cured.” 

Many ailments may be relieved in this manner, the results of 
course being in direct proportion to the confidence with which you 
make your auto-suggestions. 

For use every day, morning and evening, the following form will 
be found useful and practical, adding to it anything you may desire. 

In repeating this auto-suggestion or affirmation throw real feel¬ 
ing into every word. Live for the moment with these thoughts, heart 
and soul, and your benefit will be the greater. 

If you belong to the doubting class, and cannot believe because 
you will not try, repeat the words anyway, and if you will try this 
for one month I promise you that you will begin to see reasons why 
you should believe, practice and affirm. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


65 


®aU\> affirmation for autosuggestion 

I am a part of the Universal Consciousness, therefore I am Life, 
Health, Wealth, Harmony, Happiness, Success. 

I think constructively and keep my mind so filled with harmonious 
thoughts that evil wishes projected by others cannot harm me. 

L have the power to create desire, develop and obtain that which 
my desire has created. 

I hold that which I have attracted because it has come to me as a 
fulfillment of the law. 

I fear no one. I hold ill-will toward no one. I harm no one. 

I send out only thoughts of love and harmony to all. 

I have but to ask, to believe and to receive. 

I prosper in the degree of my desire and faith. 

I am what I am by reason of my own Thought, Desire and Will 
expressed to Universal Consciousness. 

I make my future by my own Acts, Desires and Thoughts in the 
present. The only limit to my advancement is what I place on myself. 


0 


66 CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 

IReterences 


©be Science of ©btaining 

XVI. 

“Success in any undertaking comes through the working of a law. 

It never comes by chance; in the operation of Nature’s law there is 
no such thing as chance or accident. The so-called accidental tumb¬ 
ling of the stone from the mountainside is the result of forces that 
have been acting through countless ages. 

“You and your fortunes are no more the things of chance than the 
tree in its earliest growth. You are the product of the elements 
and that product working through the law. You can, as you find 
the law, make of yourself what you please.” 

Owing to the fact that for countless years men have thought pov¬ 
erty a natural condition and wealth or prosperity something beyond 
their reach, it is necessary to repeat the assertion that as a part of 
Universal Consciousness man has a right to expect, desire and create 
his own condition. 

The one important thing is to keep in mind always your oneness 
with the Universal Mind. When you separate yourself, even for a 
moment, you weaken your position. You must know and feel and be¬ 
lieve that the currents of happiness, success and prosperity are flowing 
towards you all the time. Your part is but to perfect the connection 
and keep it in working order. 

This illustration has helped me and I feel it will do as much for 
you:— 


Let us compare the conscious mind to the house supplied with 
electric lights, and consider the electric current as coming from a sub¬ 
station—the sub-conscious mind. More power is needed, so conse¬ 
quently the sub-conscious mind, or sub-station, makes a demand on the 
main station, or Universal Mind. If the wires are kept properly in¬ 
sulated so that the current is not lost on the way, and if the connec¬ 
tion is properly made, both light (wisdom) and power (success) may 
be secured constantly for the price of endeavor. 


68 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


If, on the other hand, there is a diminution of supply, do not 
blame the main station, or Universal Mind, for there the current is 
always ready for use. Look first into the home, see that every con¬ 
nection is right. Then examine the wiring to the sub-station and make 
right whatever is wrong, continuing your investigation to the main 
station so that you may be sure every wire is in working order. Then 
go home and turn on your light. “But,” you complain, “the light is so 
dim.” There, again, you are master of the situation, for the quan¬ 
tity of light you receive will depend on the number of candle power 
in the lights you are using (faith). If you are afraid of expense, 
and use eight-candle-power lamps, you cannot expect to get the same 
amount of light as from twelve or sixteen candle-power. And if you 
will but give a little time for investigation you will find that by using 
a Tungsten lamp (stronger faith), you will secure even more light 
at no greater expense. 

Another example, and one seen every day in the city parks, is that 
of a number of people who persist in remaining in the shade, feeling 
damp and cold and sorry for themselves, when by the least effort 
they could move into the sun and be warm and comfortable. 

People of this type enjoy stories of misery, and consider a funeral 
a diversion, because it gives them something sad to talk about for 
days afterward. 

Happiness, health, prosperity are all at your command if you will 
but realize the truth. 

You must believe and feel your oneness with this supply—then you 
can honestly say each day, “I am Success,” “I am Health,” “I am 
Abundance,” because you have made the connection and you have 
planted the seeds of health, success and abundance in your mind. And, 
as all people desire these special attributes, it is well to assert your 
possession as you take your deep breaths, or when walking, or when¬ 
ever you have a few moments of so-called leisure. 

No matter how ill you may feel, do not dwell on the fact, but con¬ 
sider this is only the physical body, suffering from some of the laws 
you have broken, while the real you is and can always be well if you 
think constructively. 

No matter what conditions seem to be when you think of Suc¬ 
cess—say, “I am Success now,” because to give conscious recognition 
is to increase power, and after you have pictured and created a cause, 
you must constantly recognize it. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


69 


It may be you need the very trying experiences that have come to 
you, in order to develop self-control, or faith, or ability to act, or self- 
confidence. 

One of the students who took up this work was just in the act 
of declaring for success one day when a fire broke out in the office in 
which she was employed. She arose to the occasion, directed the re¬ 
moval of the books, and showed such excellent executive ability that, 
although she was somewhat injured and did lose many of her personal 
effects, she received, as recognition for her splendid mental qual¬ 
ities, an advancement in salary and a much better position. 

In considering and desiring abundance never allow a limited 
thought to enter your mind. Think of the abundance of air, of light, 
of rain. Consider the millions that are being spent recklessly every¬ 
where in the world. Realize that to have abundance means enough 
for all your wants and necessities and desires, as well as a surplus, and 
then see yourself as having plenty and assert, “I am Abundance.” 

If a bill is presented or you have any debts, pay them willingly, 
even joyfully, knowing that the money is only being put in circula¬ 
tion and will return to you. If you aid another, give with your heart 
as well as your hand, for you must live as well as think Abundance. 

Stop moaning about expense and the high cost of living. These 
same complaints have been given in every age. Insist not only to your¬ 
self that there is enough for every one and that you intend to have 
what you desire, but, in discussing matters with others, let them know 
your belief so they may not impress you with theirs. 

No matter what you desire, the rules that have been given for ob¬ 
taining health, success and abundance may be used, taking up each 
subject in turn and considering it; making your assertion and then 
dismissing it. v 

Many consider the best work can be done at night, because before 
making any assertion you can calmly consider what you desire, banish 
every undesirable thought, and say to yourself as a preliminary ex¬ 
ercise, “My mind is in a harmonious condition, hence I am Harmony.” 
Keep repeating this until you feel perfectly calm and well poised and 
free from any of the little trials, and then go on with your affirmation 
for health, abundance, success and anything else you desire. If you 
have the time to repeat this practice during the day, it will help you so 
much more and hasten your realization. 


70 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Just keep your resolution to the sticking point, knowing that any 
failure to accomplish comes not from the fact that accomplishment 
is impossible, but simply because you have overlooked some one of 
the necessary factors. Stop and consider what they are. 

Overcome destructive qualities, develop constructive qualities; 
learn what to desire, and the necessity for stating your desire plainly; 
create a clear mental vision, keeping your mind in a harmonious 
condition; believe and realize your oneness with the Universal Con¬ 
sciousness; affirm daily your possession of qualities now desired. 

If you fail to accomplish, you will invariably find that you have 
overlooked some point and that some wire is out of order. Repair 
it at once, being thankful to have discovered your error, and start 
your work over again, knowing that you will succeed. 

In short, obliterate from your vocabulary the word CAN’T, for to 
you it does not exist, and should not be allowed where one is build¬ 
ing for a future. 


H Summary 

“A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or 
against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his companion 
by every word.” 

“You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong.” 

“Men suffer all their life long from the foolish superstition they 
can be cheated. But it is as impossible for a man to be cheated by 
anyone but himself, as for a thing to be and not to be at the same 
time. There is a third silent party to all our bargains. The nature 
and soul of things take on the guaranty of the fulfillment of every 
contract, so that honest service cannot come to loss.” 

In the chapters that have gone before, step by step, the various 
conditions of mind have been considered as to creation, growth, de¬ 
velopment. 

You realize perhaps better than before that your thought, though 
invisible, is as real as the air. It goes from you to the improvement 
of others, or it may be sent out with a destructive force. It returns 
to you in the same manner, either as a help or a detriment. 

Like electricity it may be turned into a tremendous power to flash 
messages of encouragement, help, and instruction to every part of the 
globe, or it may be used in a way that will be only of minor importance. 

To begin thinking constructive thoughts today will take care of 
your future development, but they will not keep you from paying the 
penalty of the destructive thoughts you have sent out in the past. 

Correct thinking will, however, help you bear your trials with 
equanimity and strengthen your resolution so to live that you will 
not be obliged to repeat the experience. 

The law is exact and sure. You cannot evade it by any expedient, 
but by ceasing to resist, and by acknowledging this truth, you will 
live more happily in the present, while building for your serene, suc¬ 
cessful and prosperous days to come. 


72 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Then, too, as you understand the workings of this law, instead of 
losing heart and faith when things go a bit wrong, you will know 
that you are only paying in experience for thoughts in which you in¬ 
dulged before your attempt at reconstruction. 

In your progress it is well to consider many conditions; therefore, 
I ask your attention to the following subjects, as I feel they will have 
an important bearing on your degree of success. 

lour Bppearance 

Are you careful to look your best at all times, to make the most 
of your good points and disguise your bad ones? Or, are you care¬ 
less, thinking and maybe saying, “What’s the use, I am too busy about 
other things.” If you are, let me remind you that the world takes 
you at your valuation. 

Soiled linen, frayed cuffs, rusty shoes, grease spots, unshaven 
faces, gowns that want pressing, gloves that need mending, hair care¬ 
lessly arranged, faces shining and oily, are not the magnets to sug¬ 
gest to any one that you are either desirable, successful, ambitious or 
neat. In fact, it would seem something inside the mind must be wrong 
to allow so many outward manifestations. Guard your appearance 
as you would a jewel. Aid Nature if you must, but aid her skillfully. 

lour Ibealtb 

Wonderful things have been accomplished by souls so great that 
they persevered in spite of bodily infirmities, but still to all success, 
health is a wonderful adjunct. 

Dr. Lewis says: “The building of a perfect body, crowned by a 
perfect brain, is at once the greatest earthly problem and grandest 
hope of the race.” 

In this age of mental culture many are apt to forget the vehicle, 
not realizing that unless the fuel is supplied the engine will break 
down. 

Cheerful, optimistic thoughts do much, affirmations of health are 
excellent, but in addition there must be the exercise of commonsense 
in sleeping in well ventilated rooms, exercising in the open air (or at 
least before an open window), frequent bathing and changing of 
clothing, regular hours, using food of real nutritious value, working 
happily and relaxing frequently. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


73 


It is right to refuse to be ill and not to acknowledge it, but it is 
better to use so much discretion that no such denial will be necessary. 
Affirmations of health should be a part of every service, and with 
them should go the will that makes for health. To desire and in¬ 
vite sickness by careless habits is neither scientific nor sensible. 

In affirming health say, “I am health. “I think health.” “I desire 
health.” “I use my will to produce health and create new cells to build 
a better body and a better brain.” 

ll)our ffeeltna xrowarfc Jj)our jfellowmen 

“The law holds with equal sureness for all right action. Love 
and ye shall be loved. All love is mathematically just as much 
as the two sides of an algebraic equation. The good man has ab¬ 
solute good and like fire turns everything to its own nature, so 
that you cannot do him any harm.” 

To love your enemies is hard, but to hate your enemies means 
you only punish yourself. Every time you send a resentful, con¬ 
demnatory, evil or revengeful thought toward any one you are send¬ 
ing out a boomerang that will return to punish you. 

If at first it is hard to send out loving thoughts toward every¬ 
one, you can at least stop criticizing. You can give affection to those 
of whom you are fond, without demanding an exact return. You can 
excuse the faults of your friends and love them the more. You can 
at least ignore your enemies. Don’t expect to prosper or go ahead 
while you have hatred or un forgiveness in your heart. Let go, re¬ 
lax, fill your heart with divine love, realize that all human beings are 
but part of the wonderful whole, and you will feel too pitifully 
small and infinitesimal to worry about your own personal grudges 
and small tribulations. 

In affirming Love say, “I am Love.” “I think Love.” “I feel 
Love.” “I emanate Love to all.” 

l£our positive Bttitufce 

Be quietly serene and confident. Keep your mind on your sub¬ 
ject. When you speak, do not become excited and raise your voice, 
but maintain a calm, even tone, and a placid though determined ap¬ 
pearance. These in themselves will gain the attention and respect 
of those with whom you come in contact. Use tact. Concede a 
little, that you may gain much. 


74 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


Do not argue. Listen and then reply. Do not waste your energy 
or time trying to convince one who is obstinately determined on some¬ 
thing else. Make your statement, impress upon whomever you meet 
your absolute belief in yourself and whatever you present, and re¬ 
member your work may bear fruit at some later date, for oftentimes 
you may be talking to one “whose eyes are holden until the time 
when he may see and the time when he saw not is as a dream.” 

Affirm: “I am Success.” “I am Power.” “I am Courage.” “I 
am Strength.” 


Uour passive Httltufce 

To be successfully positive you must learn how to use your passive 
nature. Supposing, for instance, intent on your work, you meet some 
one equally positive. What is the result? A clash. 

Be determined, but whenever you attempt a new project, be pass¬ 
ive enough to receive what the other person has to say. Wait until 
the subject is exhausted. Bring up point after point. Start the ques¬ 
tion and leave it, then assume your positive attitude and win the day. 

Over-anxiety upon a subject, a desire to accomplish too quickly, 
may make it difficult for you to assume the passive at will, but keep at 
it and you will succeed, remembering always that by this passivity 
alone can you gain the other person’s viewpoint. 

Affirm: “I am quietly content to receive information that I may 
use with positive results.” “I am Success.” 


l£>our poise 

To maintain the even trend of your way under ordinary circum¬ 
stances is easy, it is when things go suddenly and unexpectedly 
wrong that you are called upon to prove you are master of the sit¬ 
uation by keeping your poise. 

You may be slandered, reviled, abused, lied about, even insulted, 
but if you can keep before your mind that those who act in this man¬ 
ner must receive their punishment, that to become angry with those 
who do wrong is only to punish yourself for their faults, then you 
will indeed be master of this and other situations, and your progress, 
will be all the more rapid. 


CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT 


75 


Many students of thought building fail to realize that unless they 
can cultivate poise, they fall back every time they lose control of their 
tempers, indulge in condemnation, self pity or any other emotion of 
the kind. 

Affirm: “I am Harmony.” “I keep my mind so filled with har¬ 
monious thoughts that inharmony or evil wishes directed against me 
cannot harm me.” 


U?our ffattb 

Last and most important, when all is said and done, the success 
of every undertaking, happiness, health, wealth, peace of mind and 
and progress all will be yours in direct proportion to your supply of 
Faith. 

“In actual life any great enterprise begins with and takes its first 
forward step in Faith.” 

If you desire, create, and believe, your Faith will take you through 
impenetrable paths, up the steepest hills, over the longest roads, to the 
most coveted goals. 

If you fail to receive, blame no one but yourself, because no one 
else can do your thinking for you. Go back, start again, eliminate 
Doubt and Fear, remembering you are never too old and it is never 
too late to start again. The next time remember to keep your mind 
filled with Constructive Thoughts, work, relax and affirm and you will 
obtain that which you desire. 

Affirm: “I can obtain from Universal Consciousness that which I 
desire, if I will but persevere.” “I have faith in my ability to suc¬ 
ceed.” “My faith is stronger than any adverse suggestions.” “I am 
Success.” 


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